Iceland part 2

Day 2 of my very memorable 50th birthday adventure started early with a really good breakfast buffet at our hotel, with everything you could want, well everything I wanted.

We then headed outside in the very dark morning with all our new best friends to load into the bus and headed to Iceland's most famous attraction the Blue Lagoon.

The ride was about 50 minutes and we were greeted with a monolithic sign to let us know we had arrived.

It was still dark outside and cold. We entered the main building and saw a spa shop where they offered up face and body lotions based on the silica mud found in the lagoon

After looking around a little we headed to the line to be checked in and then to the our locker rooms to shower (you have to shower naked before entering) and change into our swimwear, in December with snow on the ground all around us. Did I mention when we left the bus we were bundled up in our coats?

When we exited the locker room we were first hit by the daylight that had come to greet us since we had entered the building and then we were enveloped in the warmth of the air coming off the volcanic geothermal lagoon. Not only could you feel the warmth and moisture of the steam in front of you but also the coldness in the air behind you. So we did the most logical thing, we got in the steaming volcanic geothermal lagoon and went exploring. We were instantly warm and with the silica and salt content our skin felt wonderful. The bottom is the silica rich mud that has healing properties for skin conditions like psoriasis. If you could go here with no one else around it would make an awesome place to swim, and although you can find spots where you can do a stroke or two you can most easily just relax and enjoy the warmth all around you.

Our package included 2 special extras. The first being a drink and the second a geothermic volcanic mud mask. For the drink they have a wonderful selection of Skyr based smoothies, slush ice,  soft drinks, water, and of course adult options, all at a swim, or walk up bar that you do not have to leave your warm geothermal pool for. For the mask the special silica based mud is handed out to you and you place it on your face. It felt really good and after about 15 minutes when you wash it off  and your skin feels amazing.

After we got out and got dried off and dressed we explored the area surrounding the lagoon and came across this map that shows the area and also has some interesting facts to share.

Here are some other fun facts about the Blue Lagoon.

The Lagoon is over 2 acres

It has an average depth of 4 feet with the deepest parts reaching about 5.5 feet deep.

It holds about 2.3 million gallons of geothermal salt water.

The water is at 102 degrees.

It refills itself every 2 days.

After our ride back to our hotel we had the rest of the day to ourselves.  We were located close to the downtown area, so we headed out to SNAPS, a restaurant recommended to us by a local.

Along the way Tania shared some thoughts with the Icelandic writer Tómas Guðmundsson as he sits on a bench by the Tjörnin.

By 4:30 pm when got to the restaurant Snaps it was already pretty dark.

Here is the menu from the wonderful meal. By the way the other side was in English.

After a great meal we headed back toward our hotel to get ready for the next day's adventure. That will be next week's post.